It seems a popular textbook concerning anime is in hot water in Ohio following a classroom incident at Kent State University. The issue comes down to Ohio State Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus and representative Don Jones opening a petition to keep the university from assigning the book to students. The book, Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation, is one of the preeminent texts covering anime history and theory in the English. And in response, Kent State is defending its decision to use the book.
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According to reports, the issue was risen after a high school student’s parent grew irate after discovering the contents of the book. The guardian considered the material to be too racy for their child who was underage, but Kent State says parents had to consent to all the course’s reading materials if the students were not of age.
This issue escalated to Stoltzfus and Jones who sent a letter to the university urging it to ban the “pornographic” text from future courses. The representatives said the college shouldn’t expose adult material to underage students, but the vast majority of Kent State’s student body are over the age of 18. Even freshmen reach that majority, but Kent State does also students from 7th – 12th grade to take courses on campus.
According to Kent State, the college has no plans to renegotiate the use of this anime textbook. Its use in a Freshmen Composition course was deemed appropriate given the curriculum, and the college stressed all underage students had to have their parents approve all reading materials for a course before they could be enrolled.
“A section of the composition course, titled College Writing I: Social Issues through Anime, teaches college-level writing through the prism of critical social issues prevalent in this internationally popular art form, such as mental health challenges, stereotypes, violence, and relations between men and women,” Kent State said in a statement.
“The assigned text is related to the subject matter and prepares the class for dialogue about themed issues. Faculty have academic freedom to communicate ideas for discussion and learning to fulfill the course objectives. All students in the College Credit Plus program, as well as their legal guardian, must sign an acknowledgment that materials in a course may include mature adult themes before they enroll in a course.”
What do you make of this unfolding case? Do you agree with the argument or no? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
